Nitric Oxide helps Tibetans live a high life: NO assures a sufficient supply of oxygen. Low oxygen availability at high altitude will cripple the strongest man who climbs Mt. Everest because his body won't get enough oxygen from the air. The climber will suffer from oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) which can lead to severe respiratory problems. Compared to people who live at sea level, Tibetans have blood chemistry that is unique, allowing them to live at high altitudes. Doctors and scientists have been perplexed on how Tibetans are physically active in an oxygen-poor environment. A recent discovery shows that increased nitric oxide (NO) levels in Tibetans' blood result in doubling their blood flow, thus providing as much oxygen required for physically active people at sea level. This project describes the experimental results from Erzururm et al (2007) and also describes how they came to this conclusion. Understanding how NO levels are elevated in Tibetans may lead to alternative non-invasives therapies to treat cardiovascular diseases.

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